One for the GM Mizuno JPX850 Driver tester

[Region3]

And there's me thinking this place couldn't get any more 'playground'.

 

[DanFST]

I believe a full fitting is pretty much essential with this if you want to eek out this clubs true potential. As I said, it could be very easy to set this up completely wrong but that is the beauty of it.

Thats an Excellent Review Gary, a thoroughly enjoyable read. I've highlighted the above because it really is the point i'm getting at with the others.

I had a think about these, but saw a few posters saying my old driver is further etc... Because of this, I went with what I knew and ordered an SLDR. Egg on my face because I should've read more, I just didn't think people would get a free driver, not even get it professionally set up. And then post on the forum that their old driver was better. Now I could be completely wrong. But I couldn't find many if any threads on why it wasn't working/ How the settings were affecting spin rates/ How shafts were effecting the numbers.

I assumed this was because the driver was that crap, but looking subsequently it seems people just didn't bother to try and get it set up. Which is a bit of a kick in the balls for Mizuno.

 

[Mcleodc2000]

I'm still using mine, for the time being...

It is, without doubt, better for me than the Ping G20 I had previously- it definitely brings the spin down with the weights middle and forward, but the shaft is still something of an issue. I just lack consistency with it.

I was at the golf show last week and tried a couple of other drivers and shafts- notably the 915 D3 with the Rogue Silver 60x. The Project X 6.5 definitely helped with the feel/dispersion issues of the JPX for me, and I might go about ordering one to put in- it suited me way better than the Stiff Orochi which I feel like I just overpower.

I want to keep the JPX and put a PX 6.5 in it, but the 915 with the Rogue X just felt so good...

 

[garyinderry]

Half the problem is actually getting shafts for this driver to try.

American golf in Liverpool will order the driver but have no shafts.
Tour x who are fitting specialists have none at all.
True fit have 3. Two at 160 and one at 300 quid.


I hit quite a few at a mizuno demo day but had a bad back so couldn't even get anywhere near my usual club head speed which made testing slightly pointless.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

An observation. The vast majority of golfers do not get fitted. They buy clubs off the shelf, second hand, from their mates etc. A full fitting is quite intimidating to many, particularly financially. Most get away with this because many clubs are so forgiving. There may also be some trial and error as you discover if you are more of a regular or stiff shaft type of golfer. Once you work this out then you stick with what you know. The issue with this club, and boy is it a beautiful looking club, is that it seems to absolutely need to be fine tuned to your needs. It is a precision club. If it is then it can be fantastic, if it is not then it can a tricky beast. This precision element is going to hamper sales as, despite the religious fervour of so many regarding fitting on here, the vast majority of golfers will never get fitted. This is a committed golfers club and fair play to Mizuno for that but based on the feedback so far it is not going to be a mass market club in the fashion of TM or Callaway etc.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I assumed this was because the driver was that crap, but looking subsequently it seems people just didn't bother to try and get it set up. Which is a bit of a kick in the balls for Mizuno.

You're pretty quick to criticise folk without much idea what they did and didn't do with the club or their rationale for that.

I think I made it clear that my swing was a work in progress when I was testing it, which was a problem that would have made paying for a fitting a waste of money.

As things started to settle down, I did arrange a session on flightscope and tinkered with it a bit. That wasn't as scientific as a formal fitting might have been but I did that with the pro giving me lessons one night when we focussed on driving. After we had it set up, with decent numbers, and he was relatively happy with my driving, I insisted he watch me hit a few with the Callaway. After about 3 balls, his advice was "Don't even think about using that Mizuno".

I'm very grateful for the opportunity from GM and Mizuno and don't want to criticise but, with hindsight the truth is, that since a proper fitting seems fairly essential for this club it was maybe a bit of a mistake sending them out and leaving folk to get on with it.

It's also true that some of the fault was mine, throwing my name into the hat for a driver testing when I already had one I was happy with. We're always ready to believe the hype around new gear though and live in hope of finding a breakthrough....

 

[FairwayDodger]

Here's the review I submitted. (Which didn't win any prizes! )

It might have been its stunning good looks; the electric blue head, white shaft combination. Or
perhaps I was caught up in the inevitable hype surrounding Mizuno’s latest driver offering and the
excitement of being selected by Golf Monthly to test one. Regardless, it’s fair to say that I wanted to
fall in love with the Mizuno JPX 850.

But I didn’t.

I’m not suggesting it’s a bad driver, far from it. I found it to be a solid performer giving me decent
length off the tee and the sort of accuracy to which I am accustomed given the limitations of my
ability!

To my ears, there’s just something deeply unsatisfying about the dull “thunk” impact noise but that’s
very much a matter of opinion and some others seem to like it. More significantly, the ball just
doesn’t come off the face with the speed I’ve become accustomed to and never seems to match the
flight I get from the driver I’ve used over the last year.

In a head to head comparison, that driver consistently outdistanced the JPX 850 when both were
well struck. Interestingly, however, the JPX 850 achieved impressive distance on off-centre hits, so
much so that I was often surprised to see how far the ball travelled after some pretty poor swings. It
appears that my existing driver carries further and achieves slightly greater overall distance, while I
typically have a lower flight and more run out with the JPX 850. Low spin would appear to be a
dominant feature of this driver.

The club features a variety of adjustability options that can significantly alter its characteristics, so
much so that some time on a launch monitor with an experienced club fitter seems important in
ensuring the optimum set up for your swing. Regrettably, I haven’t been able to arrange such a
session and consequently retain a lingering doubt there may be more I can get from the JPX 850. I
hope to settle that one way or other at some point; I haven’t given up on the JPX 850 yet.

It’s alluring and promises much but, for now, it hasn’t turned my head. I still love another.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Shame a lot haven't got on with the stock shaft and it certainly shows how important getting a driver fitted it

I have a FC who is using the driver and he loves it - he had a G25 before and he is certainly getting an extra ten yards with the Mizuno - he has the stiff stock shaft in it

I had a go and the weight feels all wrong for me

 

[garyinderry]

Using this driver it becomes apparent what settings work best for the individual.

Before going to the loft fitting I had it ad 7.5 and weights forward. It was only a degree out from what was recommended but in all honesty I think the 7.5 may have brought my launch down a tad more than on the day. The poor fitters hands were tied as he had no shafts to try that day.

When liverbirdie first brought his to the course he was hitting it far too low. I identified a loft change and to move the weights back to add spin. This worked right away.

at the loft fitting we both started out with the driver in our usual 9.5 setting and let the fitter take it from there.


Funny thing happened as we warms up. We switched drivers be accident and LB simply couldn't get the ball above knee height. He was hitting the 7.5 loft 6 down which essentially launched the ball at 1.5 degrees. It was funny looking the confused look on his face. Sweat pouring down him.

It just shows you the power of the adjustability in this thing.

 

[DanFST]

I'm not using mine, results were never as good as with the X2 Hot driver.

I'm not using mine. It didn't give me any more distance than I get from my current driver

I remember reading your 3 post ongoing review when you got it, and I wanted you to crack it and enjoy it! I think the most enjoyable bits of reviews are looking at how people perceive sounds, looks and feel differently. One of which all the reviews did!

However I do take exception to the two above statements, and one in your main review. "More significantly, the ball just
doesn’t come off the face with the speed I’ve become accustomed to" These are purely objective, and can be backed by data. However there is no mention of any data in anyones statements.

I know you know that there is more in this driver, and that a good launch monitor and fitting is Essential for a club with as many options as this. You made it clear at the end of your review! However personally If I had been given a free driver by a company, I wouldn't make statements such as the ones above and the ones littering this forum. And if I was going to make those statements I would make it 100% clear this was with unfettled settings, and give numbers to back it up. As it's not really fair on Mizuno.

 

[FairwayDodger]

I know you know that there is more in this driver, and that a good launch monitor and fitting is Essential for a club with as many options as this. You made it clear at the end of your review! However personally If I had been given a free driver by a company, I wouldn't make statements such as the ones above and the ones littering this forum. And if I was going to make those statements I would make it 100% clear this was with unfettled settings, and give numbers to back it up. As it's not really fair on Mizuno.

Unfettled?

I think you've missed something. I didn't have a formal fitting with an expert or try different shafts but did have a professional assess me on flightscope and adjust the driver to maximise the settings.

Ultimately, he was happy with the numbers on flightscope and happy with the way I was swinging the club but the ball flight and distance I was getting was visibly much better with the Callaway. Anyone watching would see the dramatic difference.

Sorry I'm not anal enough to scribble down all the stats and post them! Don't think I've been unfair to anyone.

 

[DanFST]

Unfettled?

I think you've missed something. I didn't have a formal fitting with an expert or try different shafts but did have a professional assess me on flightscope and adjust the driver to maximise the settings.

Ultimately, he was happy with the numbers on flightscope and happy with the way I was swinging the club but the ball flight and distance I was getting was visibly much better with the Callaway. Anyone watching would see the dramatic difference.

Sorry I'm not anal enough to scribble down all the stats and post them! Don't think I've been unfair to anyone.

If the distance was much better visibly with the Callaway, then maybe the pro isn't a very good club fitter! You haven't posted anywhere why it wasn't going as far? I'm not sure even Mizuno would expect you to post all the numbers, as with that driver it would take hours to try everything.

 

[FairwayDodger]

If the distance was much better visibly with the Callaway, then maybe the pro isn't a very good club fitter! You haven't posted anywhere why it wasn't going as far? I'm not sure even Mizuno would expect you to post all the numbers, as with that driver it would take hours to try everything.

Eh? Because it travelled less distance?

Think you're just arguing for the sake of it now.

 

[DanFST]

Eh? Because it travelled less distance?

Think you're just arguing for the sake of it now.

I'm not arguing at all! Most that got one said it didn't go as far as their old drivers, but haven't been on a launch monitor. You have, and you still say it goes visibly less distance than your callaway. The manufacture of drivers is so tight these days, that subject to a decent setup. Not one should be visibly further than another.

I'm just trying to figure out why! Could you not keep the spin down? Was it loosing ball speed off the centre of the face? Could you not launch it high enough?

 

[FairwayDodger]

I'm not arguing at all! Most that got one said it didn't go as far as their old drivers, but haven't been on a launch monitor. You have, and you still say it goes visibly less distance than your callaway. The manufacture of drivers is so tight these days, that subject to a decent setup. Not one should be visibly further than another.

I'm just trying to figure out why! Could you not keep the spin down? Was it loosing ball speed off the centre of the face? Could you not launch it high enough?

Spin numbers were considered "good", maybe on the low side to my thinking since I was getting a much lower ball flight than normal. The lower flight led me to a shorter carry. At this range that meant visibly less distance since you are hitting uphill. On the course it equated to only slightly less distance, presumably a shorter carry but longer run.

As I said, I haven't given up on it and I think there might be a "sweet spot" where I can get it launching better but with lower spin than the Callaway and possibly then giving slightly more distance overall. But I am not even considering paying for a proper fitting and potentially a shaft replacement until we're into the season and I feel I am swinging consistently well.

 

[DanFST]

Spin numbers were considered "good", maybe on the low side to my thinking since I was getting a much lower ball flight than normal. The lower flight led me to a shorter carry. At this range that meant visibly less distance since you are hitting uphill. On the course it equated to only slightly less distance, presumably a shorter carry but longer run.

As I said, I haven't given up on it and I think there might be a "sweet spot" where I can get it launching better but with lower spin than the Callaway and possibly then giving slightly more distance overall. But I am not even considering paying for a proper fitting and potentially a shaft replacement until we're into the season and I feel I am swinging consistently well.

That sounds really positive to me.I assume theres no more adjustable loft left to add on the club?

 

[FairwayDodger]

That sounds really positive to me.I assume theres no more adjustable loft left to add on the club?

Yeah, that's at the maximum loft.

 

[Val]

Good review Gaz, this thread tells me a few things.

People need the season to start as a few are like timebombs waiting to blow.

Mizuno have a good driver that needs a shaft upgrade and a proper fitting session

The winter is a bad time for testing

Enjoy your drivers troops

 

[Liverbirdie]

Good review Gaz, this thread tells me a few things.

People need the season to start as a few are like timebombs waiting to blow.

Mizuno have a good driver that needs a shaft upgrade and a proper fitting session

The winter is a bad time for testing

Enjoy your drivers troops

I've got one, as you know, and went for a flightscope fitting.

However, if I was reading this and thinking of getting one , I would think - £349 new, say £25 for a flightscope session, maybe another £150 for a shaft upgrade - no thanks, I'm only an amateur.

In the next few weeks I'll be able to compare it to my old driver for distance on my own course, on firmer fairways and in the summer, which will be the ultimate comparison distance test. If your getting past that 150 marker that only your Sunday best previously reached AND your consistency is the same - jobs a good un.

 

[garyinderry]

Update. got a new shaft sent over from the US. It arrived last night so popped out this morning and played a few holes. managed to get a bit of a gap between me and group behind so played 4 drives off each tee.

Previously with the stock shaft the fitter put me in 8.5 loft. he said he would put me in a lower launching shaft if he had one available at the time.

Looked online for shafts and there was quite a few available from the US. Spotted an old shaft that had good reviews. It is brand new but old. What the hay, lets give it a go.

Fujikura vista tour pro60. supposed to be pretty low launching and only 7gramms heavier than the stock. Perfect.

Popped it in at 8.5 and first three shots were low. way too low. few beads of sweat on my brow thinking has this gamble backfired.

Pop it up to 10.5 and phew we are flying again. Moving the loft up to 10.5 closes the face a touch so I was worried of duck hooks but the over riding flight of the day was basically straight. a push has been my bad shot of late so this has pleased me greatly.

I hit quite a number of drives today and the noticeable difference is in dispersion. I have always been sceptical of this claim as a bad swing should mean bad result but this shaft definitely works a lot better than the stock.

I even tried to Müller a few which can lead to disastrous results with the old shaft but this one feels great no matter how violent the transition is.

I might try 9.5 next time I am out but first impressions are very good. :thup: